Chapter 1

Identity Leaked

Jenny sat at the top of her old apartment complex. Many things were going through her head. Things seem to cool down ever since the incident with the Avengers. Jenny had made a quick recovery from her broken arm and leg. She had heard that Steve had broken his team out of prison. Tony decided not to track their whereabouts. He wouldn't tell Jenny, or anyone else, why. She wondered if he was afraid to face Steve. She knew both men were afraid to admit they could've been both wrong. For once, Jenny felt set apart in this matter. Where she was willing to find common ground with the Sokovia Accords, Steve was not. Jenny was willing to share her concerns and her opinions, Tony was willing to accept no matter what the consequence.

Jenny shook her head. She didn't want to think about the Sokovia Accords, or the battles she had to fight during that time. Her mind wandered to Summer. She knew she had been in that prison, and she knew Steve was noble enough to free her for helping him. But where did she go?

Jenny had been to visit Marina, who was now living on her own, but Chijo would visit her often, so she wasn't completely alone. Marina had not heard from Summer in a while and had never seen her enter the apartment since Cap's team escaped. Jenny had two guesses; either Summer was still in prison, or for whatever reason, did not want to return.

That didn't stop Jenny from giving up hope. Almost every night, she would sit on top of the old apartment complex and wait. She never caught sight of Summer. Even though part of her dreaded it, she wanted to see Summer again. She wanted to embrace her friend and apologize for the things she said and did. Her mind began to wander again, and she thought about how the friends first met.

Jenny was in third grade. She was spinning herself on the swing set. She paused for a moment and watched as two girls in her class pushed down a second-grader with bright orange hair.

"Jinx!" They mocked. "You're a jinx!"

Jenny quickly ran up to the girls. They were her age, but they were taller. Jenny didn't care. She was taking self defense classes and could hold her own if she needed. These girls weren't proper fighters, and she could tell. She wouldn't even have to use her training to stop these girls.

"Get outta this school!" One of the girls mocked. "No one wants you here!"

"Well, I want her here!" Jenny intervened.

The girl who had been speaking turned and glared at Jenny.

"Who asked you?" She demanded.

"No one." Jenny replied. "You better leave her alone, or you'll have to fight me!"

"Bite me!" The girl snapped.

Without missing a beat, Jenny grabbed the girl's arm and gave it a firm nip. She didn't draw blood, but it was enough to make both girls scream and run away.

"Ahh! Germs! I'm gonna get rabies!" The girl cried.

"Hopefully they won't pick on you again." Jenny turned to Summer and helped her to her feet. Jenny noticed her hand felt warm but didn't think much of it. Jenny only told Summer that "having warm hands mean you have a warm heart." Summer and Jenny had been best friends throughout middle school and high school.

A loud noise pulled Jenny out of her thoughts. She looked up to see what looked like a flashing of light from a distance. Jenny's curiosity had gotten the better of her. She put on her helmet and left her post. She made her way toward the noises and flashes of light.

Turned out, a group of men were selling illegal weapons. Jenny had spotted them and nearly succeeded in knocking them out except one. He made a loud fuss, threatening her loudly and just begging for her to fight him- just as any street fighter would. Jenny was not a street fighter. She was a martial artist, so she did not reply, and did not lose her temper. She knew he was trying to distract her while some other of his comrades came to his aid. Jenny was able to escape them but hooked a tracking device onto the van. She sent the information to Agent Coulson, who loved receiving her reports.

Jenny hurried back to the Avenger's Tower to her new apartment. She wondered if Peter Parker was still there. The young man was an intern for Tony Stark. He helped with projects and went on errands for the billionaire. He had befriended Jenny, who he thought was also an intern. He didn't know she was The Painter. The two hit it off immediately and he felt like the little brother she never had. She was very fond of him- not to mention protective. Sometimes they would hang out when Peter needed advice about girls. They would build Legos or play the Wii in the game room, where Jenny was now sneaking into.

Jenny closed the window behind her while swinging onto one of the lights on the ceiling. She then began to crawl across it, with the new fibers in her gloves. Tony Stark had been more than generous in helping her build new things, either for her suit or new weapons. She reached the door to the lounge and closed it slightly. She gently landed on the floor and turned to see a very stunned Peter Parker. His mouth hung open and he dropped a Wii remote.

"Parker?!" Jenny gasped.

"Jenny?!" Peter gasped back. Jenny threw off her helmet.

"What are you still doing here?!" Jenny demanded.

"It's Friday night!" Peter defended. "You said we were gonna play Lego Star Wars together, remember? And then you were going to show me that Clone Wars game…"

"That was tonight?!" Jenny asked. "Well, that's beside the point now…"

"You didn't tell me you were The Painter!" Peter said.

"I know, it's just…I just… I didn't want you to get hurt…I'm sorry-" Jenny stammered.

"No, no, it's okay." Peter interrupted, swiftly removing his shirt. "It's me! I'm Spider-Man!" Sure enough, there was the spider logo across his chest.

"What?" Jenny breathed. "You're… you're him?!"

"Yeah!" Peter shouted.

Jenny thought back when they first were acquainted as Spider-Man and The Painter. They had a silent agreement of being okay with not knowing who the other was. They both kept their secret identity close and respected one another for that. Perhaps that was another reason they got along.

The college student and the high school student practically screamed at each other in excitement. They even jumped up and down like fangirls. Tony rushed into the game room frantically, making sure the two young adults were okay. Once they explained everything that happened, he heaved a sigh of relief.

"Well, now that you two know each other, I guess it's safe for Parker to help you with your weapons." Tony said. He led them back to the workshop and helped Peter and Jenny with their suits. They were adding their own adjustments and making new weapons. It was a great way to spend a Friday night.